Question

A-B. In a surface high pressure system, gradient winds are ____________ than geostrophic winds, and blow clockwise while turning ______________________ across isobars due to friction.

C. In a _____________________, the land heats more quickly than the water surface during the daytime, causing a breeze that blows onshore from a small body of water over the land.

D. In the ____________________, the continent cools faster than the ocean, resulting in a dry surface circulation that blows offshore.           

E. A vast amount of atmosphere that resides long term over a source region to acquire

specific temperature and moisture characteristics is called an _________________.

F. Winds ahead of a ________________ front are warm and blow from the south, winds behind it are cold and blow from the northwest.

G. In ______________ instability, a horizontal temperature gradient exists at the surface and contributes to horizontal wind shear above.

H. According to the Norwegian Cyclone Model, cyclones develop along a

______________________ front.

I. In a thermal wind, extreme horizontal temperature gradients produce a thermal circulation which is balanced by Coriolis, resulting in vertical wind shear, or change in the _____________________ wind with height above the temperature gradient.

J.   In _______________________ fronts, the cold front outruns the warm front, and interacts with the cold wedge poleward of the warm front.

Answer 1

A-B. In a surface high pressure system, gradient winds are faster than geostrophic winds, and blow clockwise while turning outward at an angle across isobars due to friction.

In an anticyclone, the Coriolis force alone balances the Pressure gradient force and the centrifugal force. However, near surface friction acts opposite to wind direction and causes it to slow down and blow at an angle across isobars towards low pressure region which in this case is outward.

C. In a sea-side location, the land heats more quickly than the water surface during the daytime, causing a breeze that blows onshore from a small body of water over the land.

This is called the sea-breeze.

D. In the night time, the continent cools faster than the ocean, resulting in a dry surface circulation that blows offshore.

This is called the land breeze. Land and sea breeze circulations occur because water has a high specific heat. That means it takes a long time to heat up and also cool down thus resulting is differential warming up and cooling down of the air above the land and water surfaces.

E. A vast amount of atmosphere that resides long term over a source region to acquire specific temperature and moisture characteristics is called an airmass.

Airmasses have uniform temperature, density and humidity and originate from regions of anticyclones as the anticyclones are calm regions.

F. Winds ahead of a cold front are warm and blow from the south, winds behind it are cold and blow from the northwest.

In a cold front, the cold air replaces the warmer air on the ground and lifts it up along the front. The air behind the cold front is colder than the air ahead of it which is warmer.

G. In baroclinic instability, a horizontal temperature gradient exists at the surface and contributes to horizontal wind shear above.

A baroclinic atmosphere is defined when the density is a function of both temperature and pressure. This kind of instability leads to the formation of thermal winds. It is mostly observed in mid-latitudes.

H. According to the Norwegian Cyclone Model, cyclones develop along an occluded front.

I. In a thermal wind, extreme horizontal temperature gradients produce a thermal circulation which is balanced by Coriolis, resulting in vertical wind shear, or change in the geostrophic wind with height above the temperature gradient.

In meteorology, vertical shear of geostrophic wind is known as thermal wind.

J.   In occluded fronts, the cold front outruns the warm front, and interacts with the cold wedge poleward of the warm front.

A cold front moves faster than a warm front, catches up with warm front and goes underneath it. When the warm air is pushed upward, occlusion occurs and we get occluded fronts. These type of fronts are associated with extra-tropical cyclones in mid-latitudes.